GEELONG\u2019s tourism operators have welcomed back not only a return to events and more normal trading conditions but also a new chief executive officer for the industry\u2019s peak body.<\/p>\n
Tourism Greater Geelong and Bellarine (TGGB) hosted the \u201cLet’s Kick Off Autumn\u201d function at the just-opened cellar door at Austin\u2019s Wines in Sutherlands Creek.<\/p>\n
The March 1 event was also the final function for inaugural TGGB chair John Stevens, who announced last month he was stepping down from the role; and the first for the board\u2019s new chair Bill Mithen.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the crowd, Mr Stevens said the past two years had been incredibly challenging for businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I looked at the numbers at the start of 2020, we\u2019d had seven point two plus million visitors a year. It\u2019s fair to say that\u2019s not where it\u2019s at right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I sit there as chair and I look at those big numbers and I have to keep reminding myself that that metric, as important as it is, really means that business like yours are contributing to that, so there\u2019s plenty of work to be done.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what I\u2019m confident about is that when the when the cork is out of the bottle, I think most of us have experienced that people want to get here and spend and spend time in our great region, and we\u2019ve seen the first of that and we just want to see that become ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Mithen congratulated Mr Stevens for all his efforts since 2013.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to trying to help out and grow the industry and therefore grow the region as much as we can, but it\u2019s an incredible legacy that John has left,\u201d Mr Mithen said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2022\/03\/Untitled-design-3-1.png\")
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